Leatop Plaza, a commercial office building in Guangzhou, China, has been awarded LEED Gold Certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), marking JAHN’s first LEED Gold project in Asia. Completed in 2012, Leatop Plaza is a 302.7m-high (architectural height) commercial scheme which currently holds the title of 26th tallest building in China and 5th tallest in the city of Guangzhou.

When designing the office block, JAHN made every effort to incorporate sustainable practices both into the everyday workings of the completed building and into the construction process.

The team explains: “Energy consumption has been a critical necessity for China, having the world’s largest construction market. Forty-five percent of China’s total energy comes from manufacturing, transporting and construction of new buildings and this was not overlooked when designing Leatop Plaza.”

As a result, local and regional materials were incorporated into the build, with 20% of the wood coming from recycled sources. Recycling waste management was also a significant factor in the building construction.

The tower opened for use in 2012 and enjoys a plethora of sustainable attributes. These include daylighting in 88% of occupied space, reduction in water usage to 44% through incorporation of water efficient fixtures and efficient landscape design, and an improved thermal envelope with fritted exterior glass fins and interior blinds for shading. High efficiency glazing can be found throughout alongside high efficiency air conditioning, heat recovery, and demand control ventilation.